


congratulations, you're a father

by AudreyN



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Bittersweet, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Off-screen Character Death, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 21:59:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3666756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AudreyN/pseuds/AudreyN
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The baby's skin is pinked with newness, dark tufts of hair sprouting over their head, eyes closed in exhausted sleep. There's a tiny, pink gem on their stomach, hidden by swaddling clothes.</p><p>And Rose is gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	congratulations, you're a father

Rose is gone.

Greg looks down at the baby in his arms and Rose is gone.

The baby's skin is pinked with newness, dark tufts of hair sprouting over their head, eyes closed in exhausted sleep. There's a tiny, pink gem on their stomach, hidden by swaddling clothes.

And Rose is gone.

He looks to the Gems, Rose's friends. Garnet is barely holding herself together (literally) and Pearl has completely checked out, staring at the spot where Rose disappeared. Amethyst is missing entirely; he's not sure where she's gone but there's probably violence involved.

"I, uh," Greg croaks out. He clears his throat of the lump that's taken up residence since he found out what Rose's pregnancy really meant. "I'm gonna take the baby home with me."

Pearl's eyes focus sharply. "Excuse me?" The tone of her voice is low and dangerous but Greg soldiers on.

"Look," he says gently, "do you know how to take care of a baby? None of you ever _were_ babies. There's no space for them here. There's no bed, no food, no clothes, and the temple isn't exactly baby-safe." He scrubs a hand over the scruff on his cheeks.

"This is," he continues haltingly, "this is hard for all of us. I'm not saying," Greg hurries to say as Pearl slowly rises from her seat, looking murderous, "that you're not capable of taking care of the baby. That's not it. But right now, I know that none of you are really thinking of the baby, not really. And that's okay." He stutters to a stop, fighting back tears.

Pearl has frozen, the grief plain across her face. Meanwhile, Garnet's been clutching her own arms and, though he can't see her eyes, Greg thinks she watching them like a tennis match.

"Rose is," Greg chokes. "Rose is gone. And we, we all miss her. You lost your friend and leader, and I..." he trails off. Then he shuts his eyes for a moment, rallying, before continuing, "But I have a child now. One who needs me. And needs all of us," he adds, "but I can... I can do this. There are things for the baby, in my apartment. Rose and I made up a room. So, I'm going to take my child home with me. And you can focus on yourselves for a little while, okay?"

Garnet has stilled, her body no longer in danger of splitting in two. Pearl looks grudgingly accepting. "But the baby's a Gem," Pearl says quietly, voice hoarse and thick with emotion. "She needs to be with us."

" _They_ might be a Gem," Greg says, "but they're also human. And right now, this baby needs their human father. I'm not trying to cut you out of their life. Maybe one day, their gem powers will start showing and they have to live with you so you can teach them what they need to know. I _want_ you to be around." He sighs. "But right now, I can take care of them better than you."

He holds his breath as Pearl visibly bristles. He can see the urge to lash out, to fight him, clear in her body language and narrowed eyes, before she clenches her fists and forcibly relaxes. "You're right," she grits; she's never liked Greg much and every concession she makes for him has always been with the utmost reluctance. "You can take _them_ ," she agrees pointedly, "for _now_."

"We'll start building a house for them," Garnet says with soft intensity. "The minute they start using their powers, they need to come be with us. You won't be able to handle it."

"That's fine," Greg says with relief. "I understand that. And you're more than welcome to come visit us before then. When you're ready."

Abruptly, Pearl turns and opens the door to her part of the temple, then leaves. Garnet stands and gives Greg one long, assessing look, before nodding and heading off.

Greg takes a slow, even breath. 

He's a father. A father to a human/alien hybrid of unknown gender. To a human/alien hybrid who has no name.

And Rose is gone.

Okay. 

He can do this.

**Author's Note:**

> According to the Word of God, Gems are essentially monogender/agender but use female-coded pronouns, which is why Pearl calls the baby/Steven "she." In my headcanon, Rose and Greg have talked about how they don't know how the baby's gender will end up forming, so they agreed to use a neutral-coded "they." (Greg calls Baby Universe "kid" until they grow up enough to decide that they're a boy named Steven. Everyone adjusts accordingly.)


End file.
